Pam and Dave Durrant, thank you for your comment last week regarding balloons tied to mailboxes in Harvard, and the need for an alternative. You motivated me to write this long overdue letter to the editor.
For many years, it has been researched and widely reported that balloons are harmful to the environment and to wildlife. Just this year the University of Tasmania cited that, “Balloons are the highest-risk plastic debris item for seabirds—32 times more likely to kill than ingesting hard plastics.” Sea turtles rely on squid as a primary food source and often mistake a deflated balloon with dangling string for a meal, maybe its last. Yes, balloons may have been a long-standing symbol of celebrations, but our collective awareness of the harm we have done to the environment in so many other ways has been raised to new levels. I urge Bromfield’s green team, student council, student government, athletic department, parents of athletes, and all residents of Harvard to find a reusable alternative. It should take a lot less thought than has gone into finding an alternative for reducing energy use in our schools and town buildings, working to reduce our community’s carbon footprint, and increasing residents’ rate of recycling.
Davida Bagatelle
West Bare Hill Road
